Teacher Summary #2 for October 2012

Kelly Tenkley: Construct #2
September 4th, 2012

Kelly Tenkley, posted information about what “Construct Two for HTML5”. Construct Two is a program allowing anyone, who has the right software, to build HTML5 games. The program is very simple for beginning learners. Most children do enjoy playing games on the computer; embedding Construct Two into a classroom will let their creative minds come to life. With determination, students can learn different programming and coding on a computer; both items are beneficial for the students’ future.

Kelly provided links to the actual Construct Two site which, has more information about the program. I would like to have my students began the year with an easy program, like Construct Two because, it is simple. Later however, I will show the students how they can use a more complex program for better results. I think it is great that students can be imaginative off paper in addition to staying active in the classroom.

My comment to Kelly was brief. The comment stated my appreciation for her post on Construct Two for HTML5. I gave her my thoughts on approaching the students with a simple program, then moving on to more difficult ones. I gave Kelly my information in her comment box, just in case she wanted to get a hold of me.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Re-imagine & Digital Blooms: Different Ways to Approach Learning
October 17th, 2012

Kelly Tenkley’s post was about Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is a frame work that has been used in learning for K-12 for years. It consist of six categories: Knowledge, Comprehension, Analysis, Application, Synthesis, and Evaluation. These can be set as a goal to achieve in a classroom setting. Kelly mentions how she uses this in her classroom because, it helps her and her students learn the learning process. She took Bloom’s Taxonomy and created her own version. Her version is a visual of the categories in text, as well as digital images for her classroom. Kelly’s images are very cute, and definitely will catch the attention of a student. The categories on the posters are, Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. Under each of her categories are subcategories with links to the site relative to the topics. She does not want her students to just think schooling is, memorizing, reading, and understanding. There is much more to learning about life than those three sources. To make sure they learn life lessons inside and outside of the classroom, students have to make their own decisions in life.

I found her site very useful, and I commented to her about the visual images she provided for her classroom. This a great way to stay connected with your students, with acknowledging that each of them learn differently. I mentioned, how it is important for students to make their own decisions and learn from them, as she previously stated in her post. Together her post was very wonderful, I would like to use this approach of Bloom’s Taxonomy in my future classroom.